Validating competency at the bedside

Nurses' ability to practice is constantly challenged by changes in equipment, staffing, acuity, time constraints, and requirements of regulatory agencies. This article highlights an innovative approach to validate competency of registered nurses in a 380-bed hospital in the Midwest. Confronted with increasing demands to validate competency on high-priority issues, as well as in areas of high risk, educators developed a plan to verify competency by using an observed performance format. Although the specific competency was pain management, this prototype can be used for validation of other high-risk or high-profile competencies.